Summary:

On Sunday, 7 July 2024, the second round of the French legislative elections were held to elect the 577 parliamentary members, with results indicating that French voters were not yet willing to fully embrace the Far-Right agenda.

The left-wing New Popular Front came first by winning 182 seats whereas the centrist Ensemble Alliance of French President Macron came second with 163 seats.

 The right-wing National Rally came third with 143 seats despite winning the first position during the first round that took place on 30 June.

Prior to the elections, some Tunisians feared a victory by the far right and were hopeful for victory for the New Front Popular in large part due to the Left’s support for Palestine and concerns over potentially restrictive migration policies advocated by the National Rally.

In the coming weeks, the left-wing bloc is expected to propose a new Prime Minister for appointment.

Outlook: 

While many Tunisians, and North Africans more broadly, were pleased with the victory for the New Popular Front, the leftist bloc will likely struggle to make major policy gains while still lacking an absolute majority in the parliament. Major policy gains for the left will remain contingent upon securing concessions from the Ensemble Alliance or other parties.

Other observers point to fractures within the leftist camp as it regroups parties that do not necessarily share the same vision and strategy. This fragile bloc could split over various points of disagreement as was the case with the New Ecological and Social People’s Union (NUPES) in 2022.

With these observations in mind and with the fact that the European elections were widely won by right-wings MPs, it is unlikely that the French elections will impact the current security-oriented Euro-Tunisian cooperation to counter illegal migration.

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